El Tigre: La Vendetta de Sartana
by quidditchchick004
Summary: Takes place right after "No Boots, No Belt, No Brero". Sartana seeks revenge on Manny after he breaks her guitar...permantly.Dislcaimer I do not own El Tigre, it belongs to Nickelodeon. I do not own the dialogue at the beginning, it's only there for recap
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: La Muerte de Sartana

The people of Miracle City cheered for the Riveras as they stood on a large pile of defeated villains. Fireworks decorated the air in celebration. "Very good." White Pantera said.

"We rockin'!" yelled Puma Loco.

"Now _that _was family fun!" yelled El Tigre.

"Yes m'ijo." said White Pantera. Frida flew up to the top of the pile holding on to her inflated cat, landed next to Manny, and took him in her arms. "Kiss me you fool!" she said, spun him around and kissed him full on the mouth; then they all jumped off of the pile and into the air. "Familia forever!" yelled El Tigre and they landed on the ground. The police started to handcuff all of the villains and load them into the prison trucks. Police Chief Suarez spotted the Riveras and walked over. "Riveras, I cannot begin to explain how thankful I am for what you have done."

"It was no problema Chief Suarez. It is always a pleasure to rid this city of evil!" White Pantera said.

"Papa? How are all these villains gonna fit in that small jail?" asked Frida.

"They won't. We are bringing them all to a prison in the middle of the desert; it is much larger than the one we have here."

As the villains were loaded into the trucks, they found out who most of the villains really were. "Diego? _You're _Dr. Chimichanga?" Manny asked.

"Chi-pot-le!!!!!!!" Diego screamed as he was taken to one of the police trucks. He sat down next to Sergio who sighed and said "Didn't see this-a coming."

"I knew Zoe Aves was Black Cuervo!" Frida yelled with glee. "I knew it all along!" Frida started to dance and sing. "My arch-enemy's going to jail; my arch-enemy's going to jail!"

"Shut up Suarez!" yelled Zoe as she passed by with a policeman leading her to the trucks. "I will get my vendetta Frida Suarez! VENDETTA!" she is lead away by the policeman. Frida shrugs and continues dancing. The loading continued smoothly until El Oso tried to escape, Manny had to help the policemen try to restrain him. "I ain't going back to jails man! Especially since I can't escape from this one!" He struggled to get free and it was a giant mess, and everyone started watching the event. Manny started to fight him but got knocked back, landed on Django's guitar, and smashed it into a million pieces; thus causing Django to disintegrate.

"Django!!!!!" yelled Sartana. "No! He was my only familia. You bring him back this instant!" Sartana breaks free easily from the handcuffs and attacks Manny, knocking over El Oso in the process.

"Uh…never minds man, jail sounds nice." El Oso stops resisting and goes into the truck.

"You bring back my Djangy-wangy right now!"

"No way!" yelled Manny, and he started to fight Sartana. After a couple of hard hits, Sartana almost seemed defeated, but then Frida danced by, not realizing what was going on, and Sartana grabbed her.

"Ahhh! Dude, what is going on?!"

"Let her go Sartana!" yelled Manny.

"Bring back Django and I'll spare your friend!"

"Don't do it Manny!" Frida said very dramatically, and then she changed her tone. "She's not really going to hurt me, she never does."

Sartana tightens her grip on Frida. "Do what I say or watch your friend die!"

"Dude…I think she's serious." Frida said with a very terrified look on her face. Manny prepared to attack Sartana again, but she took a step back before he pounced.

"One more step and she dies."

Manny didn't know what else to do, so he nodded in agreement of Sartana's plan. Just as he started to pick up the pieces of Django's guitar, Police Chief Suarez knocked Sartana upside the head with a shovel, and she fell to the ground.

"Nobody hurts my Frida! Are you alright m'ija?"

"I'm fine Papa." Frida said shaken up a bit.

"Frida?" Manny asked and she ran over to him and hugged him for the very first time.

"She was really going to kill me."

"It's okay Frida, it's over now." Frida puts her head into Manny's shoulder and Manny holds her for a while. Zoe spots this, and gets a look of major disappointment and hatred on her face.

"Okay Sartana, let's get going." said Chief Suarez, handcuffing her again and leading her into the truck. Manny hears this, thinks of Frida, and runs over to him to stop him. "Wait! You saw what just happened. If she can escape from handcuffs that easy, imagine how easy she could escape from jail. We have no other choice but to get rid of her for good."

"And how do we do that?"

"The same way we got rid of Django, by destroying her guitar and making sure it is never put back together."

"Okay." agreed Chief Suarez. "Bring me Sartana's guitar." It is brought to him and he hands it to Manny.

"Will you do the honors?"

"It'll be my pleasure."

"Smash my guitar and you will regret it Manny Rivera!"

"Yeah, like I haven't heard _that_ one before." Manny raises up the guitar and smashes it on the pavement.

"I will have revenge!" Sartana shouted as she slowly disintegrated into dust.

"Good job Rivera. So how do we dispose of the pieces?"

"Uh…I donno. Why don't you ask my dad?" Chief Suarez nods and finds Rodolfo. Manny then turns back to Frida. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." There is a short pause before Frida started talking again. "You know, you didn't have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Destroy her guitar; I'm sure I would've been fine. I mean, I _do_ have El Tigre to protect me don't I?" Frida says this with a casual smile.

"Yeah, you do." Manny replied back, too with a casual smile. There is another pause, but this time it's an awkward pause, which was thankfully interrupted by Maria.

"Manny! Oh I am so proud of you." she runs up to hug him. "No more villains in Miracle City, and it's all thanks to you m'ijo!"

"Dad and Grandpapi helped too."

"Yes I know, but I am still proud of you. Well come on, I am coming over for dinner tonight, we are celebrating. Would you like to come too Frida?"

"Huh? Oh, um…yeah."

Maria turns to Manny. "Is she okay?" she asked quietly.

"She's just a little shaken up, that's all."

"Well maybe she'll perk up when it's time for dinner."

As they walked to Casa del Macho, Frida lagged along and didn't say anything. This started to concern Manny and Maria, so they stopped to talk with her.

"Frida, are you sure you're alright?" Maria asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm just…thinking."

"Wow, that's something you don't hear every day." Manny said quietly to himself. "Well hurry up, I'm starving." When they start walking again, Frida continues to lag along. "Hey Frida, there's gonna be churros." Frida snaps back to her normal self.

"CHURROS?!!!!" she starts to drool. "Well come on! What are we doing lagging around?!" she grabs hold of Manny's arm and she runs faster than Speedy Gonzales to Manny's house.

"But Manny!" yelled Maria, "We don't have any…churros." Maria sighs. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make some." She shrugged and continued to walk.

When they got home, Maria and Rodolfo prepared a humongous celebration dinner, and everyone stuffed their faces, even Senor Chapi and the donkey. After dinner was over, Manny and Frida went up to Manny's room to watch TV and Frida was very full.

"Oooh, I think I ate too many churros."

"Oh no, you didn't eat _that _many; you only ate _the entire plate!_"

"I'm sorry that you didn't get any Manny, you know how I am when I get near churros." She sits on his bed and Manny turns on the TV.

"So what do you wanna watch?"

"I donno. Ooh wait! I think that monster truck thing is on tonight!"

"What channel?"

Frida yawns. "Six." Manny turns it to channel six, but the news was on instead.

"Frida? Are you sure it was channel six? Because…" Manny turns to see Frida fast asleep. Manny smiles and sits down on the bed next to her. He watches her for a little while, and he starts to realize how pretty she is. He thinks about the kiss she gave him, and how it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. A hair suddenly fell onto Frida's face and Manny took his hand and gently brushed the hair behind her ear. He stared at her a little longer and then started to stroke her cheek. She moved a bit and then woke up.

"What the heck dude?!" Manny was startled by her awakening, but still kept his cool.

"There was a…a bug on your face!"

"A bug?!" Frida jumped off the bed and started to run around the room. "Ahhh! Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off!"

"It's okay Frida, it's gone."

Frida stopped running. "Oh." She yawns again and looks at the clock. "It's getting late; maybe I should get home huh?"

"Oh, yeah." Manny said slightly disappointed. "Hey, do you want El Tigre to take you home? It'll be faster that way."

"Nah, I'll be okay. But uh…thanks anyway." She walks to the door. "Night."

"Night." Frida leaves and Manny collapses on his bed and soon falls asleep.

Two weeks went by of a crime-free Miracle City, and Manny was bored out of his mind. He never thought that he would miss fighting a villain every day, and hate relaxing all day. Grandpapi had tried to get Manny to do some fun villainy stuff with him, but he, for the first time ever, didn't want to make Frida's dad mad at him; especially since he was on his good side for once. And what was weird, Manny hadn't heard from Frida since the battle two weeks ago, and he was worried. He didn't know if something was wrong or if she was just avoiding him. He called a couple of times, but her dad always answered the phone and would say that she wasn't there or that she was busy. He really missed her and he feared that she didn't want to hang out with him anymore because they weren't out fighting villains all the time; or maybe it was because she got really freaked out about what had happened with Sartana. Whatever the reason, Manny decided to give Frida some space for a while, and hope that she will eventually come back to normal.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Resurrection

It was a quiet and cool night on the outskirts of Miracle City, and the prison was silent and still. Then an explosion erupted out of nowhere and alarms started to blaze; Zoe Aves ran out of the hole in the wall that was caused by the explosion and headed for the front gates. The guards ran out of the prison and started to chase after her, but by the time they got to the gate, she was gone. "What are we going to do now?" a guard asked the Warden.

"Nothing; she'll never survive out in that desert. She's miles away from any food or water, and she wouldn't dare to come back here if she thinks she has any chance of surviving." The Warden turns around and heads back into the prison; the guards shortly follow him. A couple of stories up, Zoe's mother was looking out of the window with a fearful look on her face. "Be safe Zoe." She said quietly into the night.

Zoe kept on running; far, far away from the prison and didn't look back. When she was sure she was at a safe distance from the prison she stopped to catch her breath because it wasn't fun to run when the air was cool. She looked back and she could no longer see the prison or any guards chasing after her, so she knew she was safe for now. She decided to rest for a little while, but she had to make it quick incase the guards were following her. She sat down in the dirt, took some deep breaths, and looked up at the stars. She had been planning the escape for a week and was sure that it would execute just as she planned; but she was wrong. Her mother and grandmother got caught right after the explosion went off and they both urged her to carry on with the plan and keep running. She didn't _want _to leave them there; it was supposed to be _their _escape, all three of them. And now she feared what would happen to them for attempting to escape.

A gust of cold wind came suddenly out of nowhere and caused Zoe to shiver, so she decided to try to start a fire. She started to look around for something she could use to burn and found a little piece of wood that looked like it had been broken off of something. "This could work." She picked it up and looked around for more. She found a lot more not far from where she found the first one, picked them all up, and started a fire. She felt a lot better when the fire warmed her up, and then she started to feel sleepy. She yawned and started to get comfortable in the dirt when the fire exploded and knocked her back a ways. Evil laughter erupted from the fire, and a skull appeared when some of the smoke cleared up. "Sartana of the Dead?" Zoe asked, surprised.

"Yes! And I have returned!" She started to laugh again. The smoke finally cleared up and Sartana turned out to be only a floating head. "Uh oh!" she fell to the ground. "I don't understand! My guitar is fixed; I should be completely revived!"

"Sartana of the Dead?!" Zoe asked again, still quite shocked.

"Yes, yes." Sartana answered, annoyed.

"But I thought that you disintegrated."

"Do you not listen? When my guitar gets destroyed, I disintegrate; and when my guitar gets fixed, I come back. But something is wrong, I'm not fully restored." She looks at her guitar. "That's it! There is one piece missing!"

"Looks like you've got a problem. Adios!" Zoe starts to run away.

"Wait! Please, can you help me?!"

Zoe stops and turns around. "Why should I? What would _I _benefit from it?"

"I believe I can make a deal with you Zoe Aves."

"You know me?"

"Of course I do! Black Cuervo is one of the best villains I have ever seen."

"Aw, muchas gracias Sartana. So what kind of a deal are we talking about here?"

"Well, what do you want? Gold? Power? Love?" Zoe reacted to the word 'love'. "Oh, so you want love hmm?"

"Well, sort of…"

"Do you want love or not?"

Zoe blushes. "Yes."

"Alright then, who is the boy of interest?"

Zoe hesitates for a second. "Manny Rivera, but what can _you _do about it?"

"Well you wanted love, so I can give it to you."

"Good luck with that; he doesn't even like me." Zoe sits on the ground, wraps her arms around her knees and lays her head on them.

"Maybe that is because he is too busy looking at someone else to notice you?"

There is a short pause and Zoe looks up. "Frida Suarez."

"Yes, her! The blue-haired girl he's always with! So I'll make a deal with you Zoe, you fix my guitar and

I'll take care of Frida for you."

Zoe laughs. "I don't need your help! I can take care of Frida myself!" She stands up and starts to walk away again.

"You know that if you hurt Frida in any way, Manny will never forgive you!" Zoe stops. "Manny already hates me, so let me take care of it. Then you can try to _rescue _her and just say that you did all that you could, but you could not save her."

Zoe thinks for a minute or two, and then she turns to Sartana, "You've got a deal."

Zoe starts to look around for the last piece of Sartana's guitar, which was difficult since it was dark. She looked for 15 minutes, but all she found were a couple of rocks and some dead bugs.

"Have you found the piece yet?!" Sartana yelled, because Zoe was far away. Zoe must not have heard her because she did not answer back. A couple more moments of silence passed and Zoe came running towards Sartana with the piece of wood in her hand.

"I found it!"

"Good, good! Now fix my guitar!"

"Wait, how _do _I fix it?"

"Light it on fire; I've enchanted it to fix itself when fire touches it! Now fix it quick!" Zoe grabs the guitar, got ready to set it on fire, but stops. "What are you waiting for?! FIX IT!"

"There's one more thing…"

"WHAT?!"

"You have to promise me that Manny will not get hurt."

"Si, si! I promise!" Sartana said, very frustrated.

"You swear?"

"I swear!"

"You cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Yes, I cross my heart and hope to die! Just get on with it already!" Zoe sets her guitar on fire and it fixes itself. A puff of red smoke appeared where Sartana's head was sitting and after it all disappeared, Sartana was standing there, back to her full form. "Let's get moving Zoe, Miracle City awaits." Zoe smiles and walks ahead of Sartana. "Time for my vendetta El Tigre." Sartana said quietly to herself as she looked ahead to the horizon in the direction of Miracle City. She picked her guitar up from the sand and strapped it around her shoulder. "Sartana has returned." She then continued to walk.

While the two of them were walking the desert, Manny was asleep in his bed, with not a care in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Captured

Manny had been tossing and turning in bed all night and he had no idea why he couldn't sleep; something just didn't feel right. Manny got up for a glass of water, but that did not help; it actually made him even more awake. So Manny just sat up in bed and looked around his room for no apparent reason, it was just something for him to do. After looking around for a minute or two, he caught sight of a picture of him and Frida. He stared at it for several minutes before he got off of the bed, went across the room, and picked it up. He looked very closely at it and he smiled; he really missed Frida. It was unusual not to see her for two weeks, he normally saw her every single day, even during the summer. He set the picture down, sat back down on his bed and thought of Frida until he finally fell asleep.

What seemed like only a couple of minutes of sleep, maybe it was, he was awoken by the sound of the phone ringing. He tried to ignore it, but it just kept on ringing and ringing; finally, his dad answered it. He then rolled over on his side and tried to go back to sleep, but this too failed when Rodolfo noisily ran into his room.

"Manny?"

"Hmmm…what?" All he wanted was to go back to sleep.

"You need to get up and get dressed!"

"Why? It's early." He takes his pillow and puts it on his head, hoping that it would drown out the talking.

"Frida is going to stay with us for a couple of days while her parents and sisters are out of town."

Manny suddenly woke up, and sprung out of bed. "She is?!"

"Si. She'll be here in," he looks at his watch. "Five minutes."

"Five Minutes?!" Manny started to panic. "But I still need to get dressed! And I need to brush my face and wash my teeth…! I mean…"

"I know what you mean m'ijo. I'll leave you to it then." Rodolfo leaves and Manny starts to get dressed.

"Five minutes just isn't enough time! I haven't seen Frida in two weeks; how am I supposed to make myself look presentable in five minutes?!" After he finished dressing, he dashed into the bathroom and washed his face. He grabbed his hair gel, which was right next to his toothpaste, stuck it in his hair, and threw it back onto the counter; but this caused the toothpaste to fall off the counter and onto the floor. After he fixed his hair, he grabbed his hair gel, thinking it was his toothpaste, and his toothbrush. He squeezed out the hair gel on to his toothbrush and he started to brush his teeth. A couple of seconds passed and he knew something wasn't right. He looked at the hair gel in his hand and spit out what was in his mouth. "Ehh gross!" He rinsed his mouth out with some water. "Estupido! I can't believe I did that! I'll never get that taste out of my mouth!" He finds his toothpaste on the ground and this time he _really _brushes his teeth. Once he finished, he looked in the mirror and ran his finger through his hair. "Looking good my man." He said to his reflection.

"Hey Manny." came Frida's voice, which made Manny jump.

"Jeez Frida, don't you knock?!"

"Sorry dude."

"Manny! Frida's here!" Rodolfo yelled from a distance.

"Yeah, thanks Dad!" Manny said sarcastically, and then he turned back to Frida. "Hey, it's nice to see you."

"Yeah; sorry I haven't called, I've just been busy."

"With what?"

"Oh just family stuff. My dad got offered a job at the prison that's holding all of the villains, but he thought he'd take some time off. Oh, I've been working on this song for The Atomic Sombreros; do you want to hear it?"

"Yeah, definitely." They go into Manny's room and Manny sits on his bed; Frida gets her guitar and joins Manny on the bed and starts to play.

It started out soft and slow, which was unusual because most of her songs were fast and hard-core, but it sounded very pretty. Then she started to sing and it gave Manny chills. He never realized how beautiful her voice actually was when the rock songs weren't screwing it up. The entire time she played, Manny watched her and listened with the utmost attention, and it was then that he knew exactly how he felt about her. He loved her. He had no idea where the feelings came from because he knew there was no way they could have existed before she kissed him. But that wasn't true, was it? He remembered the first school dance and how much fun he had with Frida as a date, and he remembered how much he missed her when all she did was hang out with Silver Wolf and how jealous he was. So those feelings must have always existed, he just didn't know it yet.

Frida finished her song and then looked up at Manny. "So? What do you think?"

"It was really good Frida, I really liked it."

"Thanks. It still needs a little work though."

"No, it's perfect just the way it is."

"Do you think the band will like it?"

"Why wouldn't they? It was amazing." Frida smiled. "So, what exactly are your parents gone for?"

"Oh, just this Police Convention out of town, nothing special."  
"I'm surprised that they…well, your dad…let you stay _here_ of all places. I thought that he thought it was dangerous to be around me."

"Well, since you basically put all of Miracle City's villains in jail, he thought it would be safe." There was an awkward pause and Manny quickly changed the subject.

"So, do you want to go to the arcade?"

"Sure, that sounds like fun." They quickly run out of the house and head for the arcade. After about three hours there, they went to go get some ice cream and then headed home.

"Oh hello you two, I was wondering when you were going to get back."

"Oh, hey Mom. What are you doing here?"

"It's family dinner night."

"Mom, we've already had family dinner night this week."

"Oh I know m'ijo; I just wanted an excuse to come over for dinner. It's been two villain-free weeks, we have to celebrate somehow!" she turned to one of the pots on the stove, scooped out a spoonful of the contents, and brought it over to Manny and Frida. "Okay, tell me what you think." They taste it.

"Mmm, it's really good Mom."

"Eh, it could use a little more salt." Manny gives Frida a look. "What? She asked me what I thought."

Manny chuckled and shook his head; that was one of things he loved about her. "We'll be up in my room if you need us." They walk upstairs to Manny's room. "Hey, it was kind of weird not seeing any villains around huh?" Manny asked as he walked in right behind Frida, who sat on his bed.

"Uh…yeah." Frida said, very distantly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Manny sat down next to her.

Frida didn't speak for almost five minutes. "Um…Manny?"

"What?"

"Can I talk to you about that kiss?"

"Oh, sure." Manny said with slight excitement in his voice.

"Well…it was kinda…spur of the moment." Manny's smile fades. "I really didn't know what I was doing, it just…happened. I hope you didn't think it was weird or anything."

"Oh…no, of course not. I uh, I figured you didn't really mean it. I didn't even like it anyways, so that's a relief."

"Oh good, you understand. I just didn't want to lose my best friend."

"That could never happen Frida."

"I know; I just wanted to be sure that it didn't freak you out."

It was silent for a long time; Manny didn't know what else to say. He felt as though his heart just stopped and collapsed inside of him, and he felt nauseous. He feared that if he opened his mouth, he would throw up, which definitely wouldn't make things any better. He couldn't believe what Frida just told him; he didn't _want _to believe it. Maybe this is all just a bad dream and when he wakes up Frida will not have come over yet. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Manny finally decided to say something.

"So, are you up for a movie?"

"Oh sorry, I can't. I've got band practice with The Atomic Sombreros; I need to show them that new song I wrote. But maybe when I get back later okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Frida leaves his room and once he heard the front door close, he stood up, kicked his bed out of frustration, sat back down, and buried his face in his arms. Maria was walking by and saw this happen, so she went into his room.

"Are you alright Manny?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It's alright Manny; you know you can tell me anything."

"It's kind of a long story."

"I've got time; dinner won't be ready for a couple more hours."

Manny opened his mouth to start, but stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again. "Frida kissed me."

"She did?! When?!"

"Two weeks ago after the battle with all of the villains."

"That's fantástico Manny!"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"What happened?"

"She just told me that she didn't really mean to kiss me and it was just a 'spur of the moment' thing."

"Really? Well, what did you tell her?"

"I told her that I didn't really like the kiss anyways."

"Even though you did?" Manny nods. "Oh, I am so sorry m'ijo." She hugs him. "Why don't you tell her how you feel anyways? It might make you feel better."

"I can't do that! She'll freak out and we won't be friends anymore!"

"Manny, if she's a _true _friend, she'll understand anything that you have to tell her." She pulls a book called True Friendships out of nowhere. "It's a fact!"

Manny thought about this for a second. He thought it was a pretty good idea, but he didn't know if he wanted to do it or not. "You know what? You're right! I _will _tell her!"

"Now _that's _the Manny I know! Good luck m'ijo." She kisses him on the cheek and leaves his room. When she left, Manny got up and started to rehearse what he was going to say to Frida. He paced around the room a couple of times and talked in front of his mirror. After about an hour of practicing, he decided to go outside and wait for Frida to get back. Five minutes passed and Frida was visible from down the street.

"Hey Manny. Wait, you haven't been standing out here since I left have you?"

"Oh no, of course not. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure."

"This uh, might seem a little weird, but I'm gonna tell you anyways."

"Okay."

"And no matter what your reaction is, I want you to hear me out and wait until I'm finished."

"Alright." She said a little aggravated.

"And if you're a true friend, you'll understand what I'm about to tell you…"

"Just get on with it!"

"Oh, sorry." He takes a deep breath. "Two weeks ago, you know the battle with all of the villains…?"

"Uh…Manny?"

"Frida please let me finish! After the fight…when…when you kissed me…"

"MANNY!"

"Frida! Stop interrupting me! I'm trying to tell you something!"

"No Manny!" she grabs him by the shoulders and turns him around. "Look!" Manny looks down the street to see Sartana at the end of it.

"Sartana of the Dead?! But…that's impossible!"

"Anything is possible Manny Rivera!" she strums her guitar once and it knocks Manny and Frida over.

"Frida? Are you okay?" Frida doesn't answer. Manny looks to her on the ground and notices that she was knocked unconscious. Angry, Manny gets up and turns to Sartana. "I've beaten you before, and I can do it again!" he spins his El Tigre belt, pounces on Sartana, and they start to fight.

"How is it possible that you are even here?!"

"I have my ways." She knocks him onto the ground and laughs. "A little rusty I see; two weeks without fighting any villains must have gotten you out of practice."

"Like I would _need _practice to defeat you!"

Sartana took out her guitar and was about to strum it again, but Manny was too quick and scratched her face with his claws. Sartana lost her balance and fell onto her knee; she looked up and there was a huge mark on her face where she had been scratched. Sartana had a look of rage on her face and gave Manny a really hard hit, which knocked him back a couple of feet.

Sartana looked at her reflection in a window. "Look at what you've done to my face! I will never be able to get rid of it!" Manny got up from the ground and dusted himself off.

"Now we're even." He said pointing to the scar on his face. Sartana looks to him again in annoyance. He was ready to pounce on her again, but she grabbed Frida and used her as a shield; Manny stopped immediately.

"Ah-ha! I _knew _you would never harm her!"

"Let her go!"

"No, I don't think I will. But if you ever want to see her alive again, come to my hide-out tomorrow night at nine…alone. Oh, and bring the El Tigre belt." She turned to leave and Manny tried to attack her from behind, but she turned back around quickly and knocked Manny against the wall; he hit his head really hard then fell to the ground. "And you better do what I say unless you want Frida to be killed." She turned again and started to walk away. Manny tried to get up, but felt really dizzy and fell right back down. His vision was really blurry and he couldn't see straight. He looked ahead and saw Sartana shrinking into the sunset; he reached his hand forward. "Frida…" he said very weakly, then passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Grandpapi's Secret

Sartana walked through the doors of her hide-out with an unconscious Frida in her arms. Zoe was sitting in Sartana's chair, waiting anxiously for her return.

"Phase one is complete." Sartana said, and Zoe looked up and ran over to her.

"You have her?!" Sartana nods. "Excellent."

"Open the cell so I can put her in." Zoe ran over to the cell and opened the door. Sartana threw Frida in and slammed the door shut. "That should hold her for a while."

"I can't believe that you got her so fast."

"It wasn't difficult; _I _am Sartana of the Dead." Sartana turned away from the cell and sat down on her chair.

"You…you didn't hurt Manny did you?"

Sartana looked offended_._ "Me?! How dare you ask such a thing! We _did _have a deal didn't we?!"

"Oh…sorry Sartana; I was just asking."

"It's quite alright Zoe, but just so we're clear: I knocked Frida out and grabbed her before Manny even had the chance to spin his belt."

Zoe seemed relieved. "Thank you Sartana; it means a lot to me."

"I know, I know." Zoe sits down next to Sartana and there is a short pause. Sartana takes out her guitar and starts to play a song; she had just started to get into it when Zoe interrupted.

"Oh, Sartana?"

"Yes?"

"Manny _will _be here tomorrow night?"

"Yes." Sartana said, and went back to playing her guitar.

"Sartana?" Zoe asked again.

"Yes, Zoe?" Sartana asked, very irritated.

"I actually had an idea for tomorrow night when Manny 'comes to the rescue'."

"Well? What is it?!"

"Well, I was thinking that we could fake a fight right before he gets here to make it look like I'm actually trying to save her."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say." She went back to playing again.

"Oh, Sartana!"

Sartana jerked and a string on her guitar broke. "WHAT?!"

"I was just going to say that I like the song you were playing…"

Sartana would have given anything to knock Zoe upside the head with her guitar, but she restrained herself because she didn't want her to know that the deal was a sham, and she still needed her to be able to carry out her evil plan. If Zoe found out, she could let Frida go, warn Manny of her plan, or even attempt to break her guitar once again. All she had to do was get through one more day. Sartana fixed her guitar sting and started to play once again. Zoe looked up at her and noticed the new scar on her face.

"Hey Sartana? Where'd you get that scar? It looks new."

"What are you talking about? I've had this scar forever!"

"No you haven't. It wasn't there this morning." Sartana didn't know what to tell Zoe, and she was about to start panicking when a noise came from the cell and Frida slowly woke up.

"Dude that was one crazy dream…"

"Ah…so she's awake." Sartana said, relieved that the subject was changed, and she stood up and walked over to Frida.

Frida jumped at the sight of her. "So…it wasn't a dream?"

"Oh no Frida, this is very real."

"Then what do you want with me? What's going on?"

"All in good time…" Sartana turned away and went back to her chair to play the guitar some more.

"Hello Frida." Zoe had walked up to the cell.

"Zoe? What are _you _doing here? Manny put you and the rest of your Flock of Fury in jail!"

"People _do_ escape, Frida; it's not entirely impossible."

"What are you doing with Sartana of the Dead?"

"I happen to have a deal with her."

"You made a deal with Sartana?" Frida asked like it was a joke. "What'd you do? Bring her back or something?" Frida sees Zoe's serious face. "You did?"

"Maybe."

"Well, what does this deal have to do with me?!"

"That's for me to know, and for you to never find out." Zoe turns to walk away.

"This is all about vendetta isn't it?"

Zoe turns back to Frida. "It is much more than that now, Frida." They both stare evilly at each other, then Zoe turns again and walks away.

Manny was lying in his bed, still unconscious from the fight. Rodolfo, Maria, and Grandpapi were all sitting around his bed, waiting for him to wake up; Maria was pressing a warm washcloth to his head. "Manny? Manny, wake up." Maria pleaded with a shaky voice. Manny's eyes slowly started to open, and when they were open he jolted up fast.

"Frida!" he yelled and broke out into a sweat.

Rodolfo placed his hands on Manny's chest and back and slowly brought him back down to calm him. "It's alright Manny, we're all here."

"Wait a minute; what? How…how did I get back in the house?"

"We were worried sick about you when you didn't come in for dinner. I called you and you didn't answer and I…I started to…" Maria starts hyperventilating. Rodolfo hands her a paper bag and she starts to breath into it.

"What happened Manny? Why were you El Tigre and unconscious on the ground?" Rodolfo asked.

"She took her! She took Frida!"

"Who took Frida, Manny?"

"Sartana."

"Now Manny, I think you hit your head a little too hard…"

"No! It was her, Dad! And she took Frida!"

"But that's impossible, Manny. Sartana is dead; well...more dead than she was before." said Grandpapi.

"She's back! I don't know how, but she is; and she took Frida!"

"Are you sure that this wasn't just a dream?" asked Maria.

"It wasn't a dream, Mom! This really happened! And if I don't do something about this, something bad is gonna happen to Frida!"

"Calm down, Manny." said Grandpapi. "If this is what really happened, then we have nothing to worry about. It's not like this is the first time Frida has been captured by Sartana."

"No, you don't understand! Sartana said that I had to bring my El Tigre belt to her old hide-out tomorrow night or she would…" Manny stopped because he realized what he was about to say.

"Or she would what, Manny?" asked Rodolfo. Manny shook his head; he couldn't say it out loud. "What did she say she would do, Manny?!

"She said she would…_kill_ Frida." Manny nearly fell apart when he said that. This couldn't happen, he wouldn't let it.

"Manny…you can't give Sartana your belt." said Grandpapi.

"What are you talking about?! Of course I have to give her my belt!"

"But Manny, if you give her that belt she is going to-"

"I don't have a choice! If I don't give her my belt, she is going to kill Frida!"

"But you love that belt."

Manny could not believe what he was hearing. Why did no one understand that Frida meant the world to him? "I love Frida more than I love this stupid belt!" he tore it off and threw it onto the ground. "All it has ever done was get me into trouble!"

"But Manny, El Tigre is a part of who you are."

"So is Frida! And I'm not going to let her die! I'm not going to let Sartana kill her while I sit here and do nothing!"

"You really _do _love her then." said Maria. Manny nods.

"Then we'll help you," started Rodolfo, "We'll go with you tomorrow night and-"

"No, I have to go alone; Sartana said I had to go alone."

"Whatever you want to do m'ijo, I will respect it. Good night."

Rodolfo stood up and he and Maria left Manny's room, leaving him and Grandpapi alone. There was a brief moment of silence and he moved over to the chair that was closest to Manny's bed. "Manny?"

"Yes Grandpapi?"

"I have something I need to tell you." He took a deep breath. "It's my fault that Frida was kidnapped."

"What?"

"Well, it was my fault that Sartana has returned."

"_You _brought her back?!"

"No, I didn't bring her back; I don't know who did." He stood up from the chair. "When you defeated those villains two weeks ago, Rodolfo and I were trying to figure out how to get rid of the pieces of Sartana's guitar."

Two weeks earlier, Police Chief Suarez gave the pieces of Sartana's guitar to Rodolfo and Grandpapi to get rid of. They had been discussing it for a long time and they couldn't figure it out.

"How do we dispose of these wooden pieces of Evil?!" Rodolfo asked loudly for the fifth time.

"I don't know; maybe if you stop asking yourself and actually do something about it they might be gone already!"

"Well, why don't we bury them?"

"No, someone could find them."

"Put them on the bottom of the ocean?"

"Still, someone could find them."

"Ah-ha, I've got it! Why don't we burn them?"

"No! You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"If you burn them, they'll all form back together. I don't know how, they just do."

"How do _you_ this?"

"I _was _engaged to her, wasn't I?"

"I suppose you are right." Rodolfo hands the pieces to Grandpapi.

"What are you giving them to me for?"

"Since _you_ know so much about them, then _you_ dispose of them."

"Okay fine." Grandpapi agreed with a lack of enthusiasm.

"Thank you; but do hurry. Maria's coming over for dinner!" he jumped with joy and scampered home.

Grandpapi stood there with the pieces in his arms and tried to think. After a couple of minutes, he finally decided that he would spread them all over the country, in different countries if he must. He changed back into Puma Loco and was about to leave town when he saw it; a poster for a special exhibit at the museum. He looked closer at it and the picture definitely caught his eye. "Oooh, _El Diamenta Rosa de la Luna _at the museum. It's so shiny!" He stood there and stared at the poster for a while, but he finally snapped out of it. "No, I must get rid of these first!" He tried to walk away, but he had to look at the poster once more. As he looked at it, he noticed that there was a caption at the bottom of the poster and he read it. "What?! It's being transferred to another museum tomorrow?! It's not fair! Not fair I tell you!" He looks at the pieces of guitar in his hand, then back up at the poster. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to help get rid of Sartana for good, but he _really _wanted that rose. He couldn't resist. He flew out into the desert and chucked the pieces everywhere. "Nobody's going to be looking for them anyways." He then flew to the museum for the rose.

"So you see, I let greed over-come me that night. I just wanted that rose so badly that I forgot about what was really important. I just figured that since there were no more villains to compete with…I…I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I'm so sorry Manny." He put his hand on Manny's shoulder but Manny nudged his shoulder to knock Grandpapi's hand off. "I don't expect you to forgive me, Manny. I just hope that you don't hate me."

It took Manny a while to absorb all of this before he spoke. "I don't hate you Grandpapi; I'm just…very disappointed in you."

"I know." He gets up and starts to leave his room. "Get some sleep, you're gonna need it for tomorrow. I hope you'll be able to get Frida back."

"Oh, I _will_ get her back."

"Good night, Manny."

"Night." Grandpapi left his room. Manny then stood up from his bed and walked over to the window. He pulled the curtain back and looked out at the stars. "I _will_ get Frida back no matter what it takes." He takes a deep breath and said, very slowly in a serious voice, "This I Swear!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Plan

Manny had said his goodbyes to his family and rushed to Sartana's to rescue Frida. He burst the doors open and saw Sartana laughing; he looked at her feet and noticed Frida lying there.

"You're too late Rivera!!!!" Sartana laughed, "She is dead!" Manny ran over and collapsed next to Frida. It was no joke; she _was_ dead. Sartana continued to laugh as Manny burst into tears. Then she took his belt, put it on, ran off, and still continued to laugh. Her laugh echoed through Manny's head as he looked down at Frida; quiet, cold, and lifeless. He was devastated; there was no way he could have helped her. Even if he had made it on time, Sartana probably would have killed her anyways. All because of the stupid El Tigre belt. He swore he would never be El Tigre ever again!

Manny jolted up from his bed and quickly looked around his room. _It was only a dream._ He took a deep breath and was relieved. He slowly laid back down and tried to go back to sleep, but all he did was toss and turn all night; worried that he might have another nightmare. He didn't know exactly when he finally fell asleep, but it had felt only like a couple of seconds when his dad woke him up.

"Manny! Wake up!"

"Dad!" Manny said as he put his blanket over his head. "What do you want?! I'm trying to sleep!"

"I have here, the solution to your problem!"

Manny peaks his head out from under the covers to see what his dad was holding. "It looks like my belt."

"Exactly! It _looks _like your belt, but it isn't! When the buckle is spun, it sends an electric shock through the wearer's body."

"And this is going to help me…_how_?"

"You give this to Sartana instead of the real one and when she puts it on she'll be in for a big surprise. Then you can get Frida, pull out the real belt, and defeat Sartana."

"But how do you know she's going to put it on though?"

"Uh…I don't. But even if she doesn't put it on you can still carry on with the plan. What do you say?"

"I donno, Dad. Do you really think Sartana will actually buy it?"

"I'm not sure, but there's no harm in trying right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He takes the belt. "Thanks, Dad."

"Oh, don't thank me, thank Grandpapi; it was his idea."

"Oh…"

"Is something the matter?"

"So I'm guessing he hasn't told you yet."

"Told me what?"

"I'll let _him_ tell you." He slides out of bed and walks down the hall; he passes Grandpapi on the way to the kitchen. "Thanks for the belt."

"You're welcome, Manny." Grandpapi said, excited that Manny was speaking to him. "I can't tell you how-"

"It doesn't mean I forgive you though."

Grandpapi gets a look of disappointment. "I know."

"I'd also like to thank you for being honest with me, but I want you to be honest with Dad too."

"Manny I…I can't…"

"Please? Please just told him what you told me?"

Grandpapi is silent for a few seconds until he finally gives in to Manny. "Oh, alright. Is there anything else you want to make me do to regain your forgiveness?"

"I'll think about it." Manny continues to walk to the kitchen, and when he gets there he sees his mom cooking pancakes. "Mom? You're still here?"

"Of course I am. I needed to make you a big breakfast before tonight."

"Mom, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense! Sit down." Manny obliges.

Maria then put a full plate of pancakes in front of him, and they made Manny sick to his stomach when he looked at them. He just wasn't very hungry. So to avoid hurting his mom's feelings, he cut off a piece and gobbled it down. "Thanks, Mom. Breakfast was muy delicioso."

"Manny, you only took one bite of it!"

"I'm just not really that hungry."

"But you _should_ eat something; you need your energy for tonight! Frida's counting on you and-"

"Mom! Please don't. I'm already freaked out about it as it is; you're just making it worse."

"I'm sorry, m'ijo. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay; it's not your fault." Manny left the kitchen and went back to his room and collapsed back onto his bed. He hoped that maybe he would wake up and all of this had just been a bad dream; he tried to wake himself up three times, but no such luck. He rolled over onto his back, took out his phony belt, and looked at it. _All Sartana has to do is put it on and it'll all be over. _He laid there on his bed for the rest of the day, waiting for 9:00 to come around.

Sartana was pacing back and forth in front of her chair; she looked at the clock and it was quarter to nine. _It's time._ She quickly ran over to Zoe, who had been taunting Frida for the past twenty minutes. "Zoe?"

"Yes?"

"Manny is going to be here at ten, and I was thinking-"

"Ten? I thought he was coming at nine?"

"No, he's coming at ten. Anyways, I was thinking that you should go to the police station and get your Black Cuervo suit."

"Why?"

"Well, I was thinking it might make our fight more convincing."

"Oh, right. Good idea, Sartana."

"You should go now…just in case you get held up." Sartana said in a very sinister way that Zoe did not notice.

"Another good idea. Well, I'll see you at ten then." She leaves. Once she was gone, Sartana strummed her guitar and four of her banditos came up from the ground.

"You two make sure that Zoe does _not _get back here. And be sure that she doesn't know who you are." They nod and leave, and then Sartana turns to the other two. "As for you two, pay a visit to the new prison and bring back two birds for me." They nod as well and leave. 

"What was _that _all about?" Frida asked, very confused. "I thought that Zoe was on your side."

"Yes, and I'm sure _she _thought that too."

"So…she's _not _on your side?"

"Of course she's not on my side."

"Wait, now I'm confused…"

Sartana grumbles out of frustration. "She never _was_ on my side, estupido! I only made her _think_ she was!"

"But why would you do that? Why would you lie?"

"I had to say _something_ to get her to fix my guitar; it's just too bad for her that I couldn't give her what she wanted."

"What did she want?"

"She wanted Manny to love her, and she was under the impression that the only reason why he didn't love her was because of you. So, she was going to eliminate you."

"What?!"

"Hey, don't get angry at me. _Zoe's _the one who wanted to kill you."

"So, you're _not _going to kill me?"

"That depends on if Manny gets here in ten minutes and has his El Tigre belt for me."

"Ten minutes? You lied to Zoe about that too then?"

"Yes, to get her away from here as fast as possible before Manny gets here. She would be so heartbroken if she saw anything happen to him."

"Wait…what are you gonna do to Manny?"

"You know how I told you that I couldn't give Zoe what she wanted? Well, it's because what she wants and what are want are complete opposites."

"Why are they opposites?" Sartana turns and looks Frida directly in the eyes.

"She wants him to live, and I want him to die."

It was ten to nine and Manny was ready. He got the phony belt and stuffed the real one into his pocket. He took one last look at the picture of him and Frida sitting on his TV. "I will not fail you." He said to the picture and then walked outside where his family was waiting to bid him goodbye and good luck. Rodolfo rushed to him.

"Do you have everything?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Dad."

"And you remember the plan?"

"DAD!"

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to be sure."

"I know, I'm just…I'm scared that…that Frida's gonna…"

"It's alright m'ijo. You'll bring Frida back; I know it." Said Maria.

Manny nods and tries to smile.

"Good luck." Both Rodolfo and Maria said, and then hugged Manny. Manny soon lets go of his parents

and then turns to leave.

"Manny?" Came Grandpapi's voice; Manny turns back around. "Buena suerte a mi nieto." Manny smiled;

he knew he couldn't stay mad at him, it wasn't really his fault. He walked over to him and gave him a big

hug as well.

"Thanks, Grandpapi." He lets go of him.

"Now you bring Frida back, okay? I would very much like to have great-grandkids."

"What?! I…uh, um…" Manny started to blush.

"I'm just joking Manny. I don't think I'll live long enough to see that happen."

Manny blushes again. "I'm…uh…I'm gonna go now." He leaves.

Through out the fifteen minutes remaining before Manny's arrival, Sartana had been informing Frida of her plan and the reasons for it.

"So you're doing all of this just because Manny accidentally destroyed Django's stupid guitar?!"

"That is not the only reason stupid girl! El Tigre has been a burden to my life for the past two years! Every time I have a plan to destroy or take over the city, he foils it! He has destroyed me a couple of times in the process, but I have always found a way back. But not the last time; the last time was different. He destroyed me permanently; or so he thought. That was the biggest mistake he has ever made; he didn't know that I would come back and seek vendetta. I will _not _be destroyed again, and I will _not _let him ruin my plans ever again. So, the only way to be certain he won't interfere is to strip him of his powers and kill him. Then I can go find Django's broken guitar, bring him back, and together we'll take over Miracle City without any interruptions from that dim-witted cat!"

"You're insane."

"Like a fox!"

"Manny will never lose to you! There's no way you can get his belt from him; he'll never give it up!"

"He will if he has some motivation." She strums her guitar and two more banditos come up from the ground. She opens up the cell and they grab Frida and bring her out in the open. "Kill her on my command." The banditos nod.

A noise suddenly erupts from outside Sartana's hideout. "Ah, that must be him right now."

"Manny don't come in! She's gonna kill you!"

"Keep her quiet!" One banditto covers her mouth up tight, and she starts to struggle. "Keep her still to, she's getting annoying." The two of them use all of their strength to restrain her as best as they can. It is silent for a few seconds, and then Manny walks through the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Rise of Sartigre

"Manny, so nice of you to drop by." Sartana sneered once Manny walked through the door. "Do you have what I want?"

Manny takes out the belt. "Here." He throws the belt to her and she catches it. "Now let Frida go!"

Sartana ignores Manny. "It's mine! It's finally mine! I have the power!" She laughs an evil laugh.

"You got what you wanted; now let Frida go!" Sartana again ignored him, but while she continued to laugh she looked to Manny and noticed part of the real El Tigre belt sticking out of his pocket. She stopped laughing.

"Very well, Rivera. But if you could one more thing for me first?"

"What?"

Sartana throws the belt back to him. "Just take this and put it on if you will."

Manny's eyes widen. "Why?"

"Just for fun." Manny looks at the belt and hesitates. "Well, go on. Not scared of anything are we?" Manny hesitates again and just stares at the belt. "If you don't want to, I can always have my bandittos take Frida and-"

"Okay, okay! I'm putting it on!" He puts it on. "There, happy now?"

"Not quite. Spin the buckle."

"But…" Manny didn't know what to do. If he spun it, then Sartana would know that the belt was a fake and _possibly_ hurt Frida, but if he didn't, then Sartana would know it was a fake and _really _hurt Frida. He looked over to her; she looked terrified and was shaking her head at him as if to say 'Don't do it!' But he had to. He turned back to Sartana. "Okay." He spun the belt buckle and it sent ten consecutive shocks searing through his body before it finally stopped. When he grew weak and fell to the ground, Sartana ran over to him, took the real belt out of his pocket, and grabbed him by the shirt collar.

"How dare you try to deceive me?! We had a deal! But no matter." She throws him onto the ground and looks to her bandittos. "Kill her."

"NO!" Manny yelled and struggled to stand up. He threw the closest thing he could find at Sartana, and it knocked her guitar out of her hands. "Turn and face me you coward!"

"Uno momento." She said to her bandittos. "If it's a fight he wants, then a fight he'll get. But, let's make this a little more interesting, shall we?"

She puts the belt on and spins the buckle. A big flash of green and red light, and a sound most unbearable erupted from it. Once it cleared up, it was obvious Sartana was now in possession of El Tigre's powers. She didn't look like her normal self; she looked almost human, almost alive. She started to laugh evilly again. "I am Sartigre!"

"Sartigre?!" Frida laughs. "Is that _seriously_ the best you could come up with? Lame!"

"I thought I told you to keep her quiet!" The bandittos cover up her mouth again.

"Good." She turns back to Manny. "Are you ready to die Manny Rivera?"

"_I _won't be the one who's gonna die." Manny jumps onto Sartana and knocks her down, but she immediately flips him over her and he smacks against the wall. Sartana jumps back onto her feet and fans out her claws.

"You're going to have to try better than _that_ Rivera!"

He gets back up. "I intend to."

"Good, I was beginning to think this was going to be too easy." Manny runs at her again but she scratches him with her claws over and over. He blocks a few blows, but got hit most of the time. Sartana eventually knocked Manny onto the ground; Manny took this to his advantage and swung his feet under Sartana, causing her to lose her balance and fall. He then jumped on her and attempted to take the belt off but she pushed him off with the claws that soon extended out with the chains, and then she pinned him against the wall. "Ohhh, I can definitely get used to these!"

"Well, don't get _too_ comfortable! You won't be using them for very long!" Manny grabs the chain with his free hand and tries to get out of Sartana's death-grip. He struggled, but the chain was too strong and he was too weak without his belt.

"Aw, having a little trouble are we? Here, let me help." She pulls Manny off of the wall and reels the chain back in.

"What…what are you...?"

"I'm not finished with you yet." She hit him once more and he flew across the room, then she started to walk toward him.

Manny didn't know what he was going to do, this was impossible. Sartana was powerful enough with just her guitar, but now that she had his El Tigre powers, she was unstoppable. He honestly considered quitting, but he knew he couldn't. He could _not _let Frida down; not like this. Sartana made it over to him and she picked him up by the collar. She stared at him for a couple of minutes and then she pulled her arm back to scratch him again.

"This one's for Django!" But before she could make her blow, there was a loud noise and Zoe Aves came through the door with her Black Cuervo suit on.

"Hey, Sartana! I got my suit back; it wasn't easy though. I…" She stopped when she saw Sartana holding Manny, and that he was covered in cuts and bruises. "What's going on here?!"

"Oh, I forgot about you." Sartana said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, and then she dropped Manny to the ground.

"Zoe Aves?" Manny asked, very shocked.

"What are you doing?! Why is Manny hurt?! You told me…you _promised_ me that he wasn't going to get hurt! You…you crossed your heart and hoped to die!"

Sartana laughs. "Oh, Zoe. Sweet naïve Zoe. If you haven't noticed, I fib all of the time. And there is no possible way for me to cross my heart and hope to die because I have no heart and I'm already dead!"

"But…you promised me. I helped you!"

"_You_ did this?!" Manny yelled at her. "_You're _the one who brought Sartana back?!" Zoe was taken aback by Manny's rage and she didn't say a word.

"Well, if she won't tell you, I will. It's an awfully interesting story. Little Zoe had just broken out of prison and she found herself all alone in the desert. She soon got cold and decided to make a fire. But with what? She found some pieces to my guitar and lit them on fire, then of course I came back, but not fully; I was only a head."

"So Zoe _did_ bring you back?"

"Yes, but it was not out of the goodness of her heart. She would have never helped me if I wasn't so good at thinking on my feet. I offered her anything she wanted, and what she wanted was love."

"Love?"

"Yes, love. Your love, as a matter of fact."

"What?!"

"She thought that the only reason you never loved her in the first place was because of Frida, and the only solution was to eliminate her."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, don't get angry at me, it wasn't _my _idea. She had planned that I kill Frida and we fight each other before you came to the rescue, and she would claim she did all she could but couldn't save her. Then with you in emotional distress, Zoe would be there to comfort you, and there you have it! But I knew it wasn't actually possible to give her that because I want you dead. So I lied to her so she would fix my guitar."

"You…you lied?" Zoe said with a small voice.

"Of course I lied! But don't take it personally; I would have done it to anybody." Zoe starts to tear up a bit and hangs her head in shame. She looked over to Manny on the ground.

"Manny?" Manny gave her a look, not an evil look, but a look of disappointment, anger, and confusion all in one.

"You've done some pretty bad things Zoe, but never as bad as this. This…this is just cruel, and completely heartless of you."

"But, Manny I…" Manny just shook his head and looked away. A tear trickled down Zoe's cheek.

"Well, now that you're here, I might as well get some use out of you." Sartana said. "I want you to go tie Frida up while I finish Manny off."

"What makes you think I'm going to do _anything _for you?"

"Because you have nowhere else to turn, and I'm you're only refuge."

"Then what happens if I refuse?"

"I knew I'd run into this problem." She said with a sigh. She strummed her guitar and two bandittos came up holding onto Zoe's mother and grandmother. "Now do it or they die."

Zoe was shocked; _how did she get her family out of prison so fast?_ She looked at their terrified faces and started to cry some more. She had to do what Sartana said. She slightly nodded and walked over to Frida and started to tie her up.

"Oh, and don't gag her! I want to hear her cry!" Zoe nods again. "Now let's finish this Rivera!" She tried to pick him up off of the ground but he slid underneath her, got up, and grabbed her guitar that was strapped on her shoulder. Sartana quickly turned around, which caused Manny to fall over, and she whipped the guitar around. "Too slow Rivera!" She strummed it and a giant power beam, more powerful than ever, shot out of it, hit Manny, and he flew across the room. He was sent right next to where Frida was tied up and he hit the wall really hard and fell to the ground.

"Manny!" gasped Frida. "Get up! Get up!"

"I'm sorry, Frida…I…can't."

"But you have to try!" Manny struggled to push himself up, but he was too weak and he fell right back down.

"I can't do it Frida, I just can't." Manny said softly. "You and I both know what's going to happen to me."

"No, NO! Don't say that! You _are_ going to get up, and you _are_ going to defeat Sartana, and we'll walk out of here just fine like we always do!"

"Not this time, Frida." Frida starts to cry then looks to the ground. Sartana finally made her way over to them.

"Have any last words, Rivera?"

Manny looked at Frida, then back at Sartana. "Actually, yes; I do." He turns back to Frida. "Frida?"

She looks at him. "I love you. And I don't care that you don't feel the same way about me." A tear drops from Manny's eye. "I just…wanted you to know." Frida said not a word and only looked at Manny, dumbstruck.

"Aw, isn't that precious?" Sartana sneered. "I almost feel bad about wanting to kill you now."

"Really?"

"No, not really." She jolts toward him to attack again, but Manny somehow managed to move away from the blow. "Hey get back here!" Frida then snapped out of her shock.

"Wait, Manny! It's not true!" Frida yelled.

"What's not true?!" Manny asked while still trying to dodge Sartana's hits.

"Me not feeling the same way about you!"

"What?!" he looked to Frida and then took a blow from Sartana due to him not paying attention.

"Oooh, sorry."

"It's okay, now what were you saying?!"

"I was saying that I _do_ feel the same way about you!"

"But you said earlier that you-"

"I know what I said; I lied."

"But why?"

"Because I was afraid that you didn't like me the way I like you." Manny looks slightly confused. "That night I kissed you, you didn't say a word to me about it and I thought that maybe it grossed you out. I lied because I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

All of a sudden, Manny started to feel warm inside and he felt that he could jump off of the Miracle City Volcano and just fly. The weights finally lifted off of his shoulders and he didn't hurt anymore. Frida _did_ love him back. That was music to his ears.

"You had it all wrong, Frida." Manny said with a slight chuckle. "Sure, that kiss shocked me a bit, but it didn't gross me out. It was actually really nice. And when you hugged me and I just held you, it…it felt so right. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you ever since." Frida smiled at him and it gave Manny chills, and he suddenly felt stronger. Sartana threw yet another punch at Manny but he stopped her fist in his hand. "Not today Sartana." Manny smiled and then threw Sartana across the room; she hit the wall hard and fell to the ground. Manny rushed over to Frida and started to untie her.

"Where did _that _come from?" Frida asked.

"I don't know; it must have been you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. When you told me before that the kiss didn't really mean anything, I was really upset. But now that I know otherwise, it made me feel better, stronger."

"Wow, that is really cheesy." They both laugh, and Frida started to move in closer to Manny, but then she stopped and looked directly behind him. "Manny, look out!" But Manny turned too late, and Sartana had already grabbed him and pinned him to the wall.

"Do you honestly think you can take me out with just one blow?! I am SARTIGRE!"

"And _I_ am Black Cuervo!" Sartana turned to see Zoe flying at her and she knocked Sartana down, freeing Manny. Zoe started to fight Sartana. Manny and Frida looked at each other confused; _what just happened?_


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the wait, I've just been really busy with school. So to make up for it, I made this chapter longer than I first intended it to be. I hope you enjoy it and I will have the next chapter ASAP. :D

Chapter 7: Unexpected Ally

_Did Zoe just…?_ Manny thought to himself. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Why on earth would she help them if her family's life was at stake?

"Ahem!" yelled Zoe. "What are you doing still standing there?! Go finish untying your girlfriend!"

Manny tuned in. "Uh…oh, right." He ran over to Frida and started to untie her again.

"What's going on? Why did she do that?" Frida asked, confounded.

"I have no idea."

Zoe attacked Sartana again; it was easy for her because of how surprised Sartana was.

"What are you doing Zoe?!"

"I'm helping Manny!"

"You made a big mistake, Zoe. Now your family will perish and it will be all your fault!"

"I don't think so." Zoe said, as she pointed over to the place where the bandittos were supposed to be constraining Zoe's family; Sartana looked and they were gone.

"What?! How did they escape?!"

"You know that your bandittos are actually quite brittle?" Sartana quickly looks around to try and find them and then finally spots them, but they were in a million pieces. There was a severed hand crawling to find its owner, and a torso with one leg was hopping around and trying to find its head. "Pull on a limb hard enough and it comes off." Zoe smirked.

"You idiots! Find your heads and put yourselves back together!"

"Oh, you mean _these_ heads?" Zoe pulls them out.

"Give me those right now!"

"No, I don't think I will. Unless, of course, you give Manny his belt back."

Sartana laughs. "You _must_ be loco! Now give them to me!"

"Oh, alright."Zoe finally agreed, and then she slowly started to pass them over to Sartana but 'accidentally' dropped them onto the ground. "Oops." Then she crushed them with her foot. "Sorry."

"You said you would give them to me!"

"Yeah, but I…_fibbed_! It's not nice being lied to, is it?!" Sartana got really angry at this comment and attacked Zoe.

It took a while on account of Zoe tying the knots really tight, but Manny finally untied Frida. Frida noticed that Sartana was distracted from fighting Zoe and had no idea that she was free. "Manny, now's our chance! Let's get out of here!" She grabbed his hand and they headed for the exit. Manny looked back at Zoe before they left.

She looked at him just standing there. "What are you doing?! Get out of here now; I can take her!" Manny nods and they run out of the door. They ran a couple of feet until the sound of Zoe's scream made Manny stop, which jerked Frida and made her stop too.

"Manny? What are you doing? Let's go!"

"Do you think she's okay?"

"Who cares? She wanted to kill me; she deserves what she's getting if you ask me."

"But we can't just leave her there…"

"Manny, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. She…wanted…to…kill…me!"

"I know, but…"

Frida looks at Manny's face and finally gives in. "Stupid guilt! Well, come on then." They head back to Sartana's again. Once they got there, Zoe was on the ground with the face to her helmet shattered. A couple of bandittos spotted them and started to attack.

"Don't worry," said Frida. "I'll take care of these bozos."

Manny nodded and then ran over to Zoe. Sartana was about to strike her but Manny jumped onto her shoulders and pulled her backwards. This caused her to fall over, but unfortunately, Manny went with her and she crushed him.

"Oh, nice one _hero_!" Zoe said sarcastically.

"Hey, I didn't _have _to come and save you, you know!"

"You call _that _saving me?!" Zoe laughed. "You are practically useless without your belt!"

"Well, do you think you can at least get her off of me? I think I knocked her out." Zoe rolled her eyes, and then walked over to him and pushed Sartana off.

"Well, look at that! You actually _did_ knock her out. I guess you aren't completely useless after all." Zoe said nonchalantly.

"Gee, thanks." Manny said with much sarcasm. "At least I can get my belt now." Manny grabbed the belt, but once he did, Sartana's hand suddenly grabbed him and launched him across the room. When he landed on the other side of the room, he took out a banditto who was about to hit Frida.

"Thanks, Manny; that was a close one."

"No problema." Manny said painfully, while Frida helped him up.

"A little help here!" Zoe yelled from across the room; her wings were now shattered too and Sartana had her cornered.

"Still no chance we just get out of here while we can?" Frida asked hopefully. Manny gave her the stink eye. "Yeah…I didn't think so." They both ran to Zoe's aid.

Sartana turned around when she heard them coming, took out her guitar, and strummed it. But Manny dropped to the ground, slid right under her, and ended up next to Zoe.

"That was pretty slick, huh?"

"Yes, but now we're _both_ cornered!" Signifying that Sartana had them trapped.

"Oh…didn't think about that."

"Well, clearly you don't think at all! If you had any thought in your mind, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Well, if _you_ had any thought in your mind then you wouldn't have _gotten _me into this mess!"

"Well, if _you_…!"

"Oh, will you just shut up already so I can kill you?!" They shut up; Sartana reached for her guitar, but Frida jumped on her head and wrapped her arms around Sartana's neck, trying to asphyxiate her.

"Don't worry, Manny. I'll choke her before she can do anything!"

"Um…Frida? You _do _know that Sartana doesn't need to breathe right?"

Realization hits her. "Oh…right." Sartana then grabs Frida and throws her into the corner with Manny and Zoe.

"Now I have you." She pulled her guitar off of her shoulder slowly, enjoying the suspense.

"This is exactly why you two should have gotten out of here when I told you to!" said Zoe angrily.

"If it wasn't for us, you'd be dead right now!" Frida commented back.

"I could have taken Sartana out easily if you didn't come and try to 'save me'."

"Yeah? It sure didn't look that way when we came back."

"I was only pretending to act weak and defenseless so that Sartana would let her guard down. It's a defense strategy! Anyone who has a brain knows that!"

"You did _not_ just call me stupid!"

"Girls…knock it off." Manny urged as Sartana slowly started to strum her guitar, but he was ignored.

"Well, you're the one who tried to suffocate a skeleton!"

"Oh, that's it!" Frida pounced on Zoe and they started to cat-fight. They rolled around scratching and pulling each other's hair, and then bumped into Sartana which caused her beam of power to shoot off in another direction; it hit her two bandittos, and they fell to pieces again.

"Not again!" Sartana groaned. In the confusion. Manny ran out of the corner to the sprawling girls to try to stop them. He had managed to break them up, but not quick enough because Sartana had strummed her guitar again. The beam hit the three of them and they flew across the room; Sartana fled.

Manny slowly opened his eyes about five minutes later to find Sartana gone. _Where would she have fled to? _Manny then heard a groan coming from behind him, and he turned to see Frida on the ground. "Frida?! Are you okay?!" She nodded and helped her up. _"_I just hurt my leg a little bit."

Manny looked at it. "A _little _bit? Frida, your leg is bleeding really badly." Manny took off his jacket and used it to clean up the wound and make a bandage.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Zoe said as she made her way over to them.

"Well, you _must _be fine if you're up and walking around." Frida said weakly, but with a hint of sarcasm.

"Just because you're hurt, doesn't mean I won't still kick your butt!"

"Bring it on Black Chicken!"

"Cut it out, guys." Manny said concerned. "We need to find Sartana. Where do you think she fled to? Where _could_ she have fled to? This is her only hide-out."

"I don't know." Zoe said. "She did mention something about wanting to get the pieces to another broken guitar, but she didn't give any details."

"Django." Manny and Frida said together.

"Django of the Dead! I can't believe I never thought of that!"

"Who's the stupid one now?" Frida laughed.

Zoe just rolled her eyes. "But where would she find the pieces anyway? I thought they were disposed of like Sartana's."

"I don't really know what happened to them, actually." Manny said.

"I do!" Frida said suddenly. "They're at my house." Manny and Zoe both gave her confused looks. "My dad was supposed to keep them at the Police Station, but he thought they would be safer at home under his close watch."

"But how would Sartana know that?" asked Manny.

"I don't know…but if she is smart enough to check the Police Station and finds out that they're not there, then she's smart enough to assume that the only other place they can be is at the Police Chief's house." Zoe said.

"You're probably right. We should head to Frida's house and hope that Sartana isn't there yet. If she's not, we can surprise her." Frida and Zoe nod.

They make their way out of the old hide-out and start to make their way to Frida's. On the way, however, Frida needed to stop for a second to rest her badly injured leg. Manny looked at her sitting there in pain and he felt really bad that he let this happen to her. He sat down next to her.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just need to sit for a few seconds." Manny looked to Zoe who was crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"We don't have all night you know?" she said impatiently.

Manny turned back to Frida. "Frida? I don't think you should come with us, just let me and Zoe fight Sartana."

"What? Why?!"

"Frida, you're hurt; and I don't want you to get hurt again."

"But you need all the help you can get!"

"I know, but Zoe and I can handle it. I want you to go back to my house, you'll be safe there."

"And you expect me to just sit around and _wait _for you to come back like some sissy little princess locked in a tower or something?!"

"Please, Frida." He took her hands and held them in his. "For me."

"Okay."

"Thank you."

"Come on Prince Charming, let's go!" Yelled Zoe.

"Okay, okay! Just a sec!" He turned back to Frida.

"Well, go on. You have to get there before Sartana does." Manny nodded. He let go of her hands, and turned away. His confidence slowly faded away, and he didn't think he could actually go through with this anymore. He didn't have his belt so he would get creamed for sure. And what if he _didn't _come back home to Frida? He turned back around to her.

"I almost forgot." He grabbed her hand, pulled her in closer to him and kissed her passionately on the lips. It wasn't anything like the first kiss they shared; it was like something he never felt before. Their lips melted together like butter and his heart was doing a million back flips. He suddenly felt her hand run through his hair and he soon found he was stroking her face with his. He kinda wished that this kiss had been their first so that there wouldn't have been any confusion, and they could have spent more time together before all if this insanity happened; instead, he would most likely never see Frida again. They finally pulled away from each other, but they still held each other close. "Just in case." Manny said.

"Just in case what? You don't come back?" Frida asked; Manny nodded. "You're going to come back, Manny. I know you are." Manny looked into Frida's blue eyes and saw she was scared too. He pulled her in again and held her.

"I hope you're right." He kissed her again and even though it was shorter this time, the sensation was still there. He would have stayed there all night kissing her, but Zoe yelled at him again.

"COME ON!!!! You two can smooch later!" Manny looked to Frida again.

"Go kick some Sartana butt." Manny nodded and then he and Zoe ran off into the night.


End file.
